NASBA Center For Public Trust 
With Corporate Scandals on the Rise, There’s Always Another Story
NASHVILLE, TENN., (February 5, 2014) – Too often, we hear about bad behavior in today’s business world. For example, last month, media reports noted that JP Morgan Chase & Co. agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion in fines for failing to warn investors and regulators about the massive Madoff Ponzi scheme.
This type of news has become commonplace. In light of this poor example of ethical behavior, the NASBA Center for the Public Trust is taking a more positive approach, by telling a different story−one that recognizes the contributions of outstanding leaders who are Being a Difference. Leaders like James (Jim) P. Owen, who unlike Madoff, spent his career as a financial investment professional leading with integrity. Owen now leads the Center for Cowboy Ethics & Leadership, a national ethics center dedicated to teaching current and future leaders basic ethical principles.
The NASBA Center for the Public Trust (CPT) recently recognized Owen as a Being a Difference Award recipient. Established in 2006, the CPT’s Being a Difference Award program honors individuals for their exceptional contributions to ethical leadership in business, and community impact. CPT President Alfonzo Alexander and CPT Founder David A. Costello, presented Owen with the award in Phoenix, Arizona, during the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA) Winter Institute, of which Owen is a founder.
Being a Difference Award recipients are selected by a national committee focused on identifying individuals who go beyond making a difference and are truly being a difference throughout their professional and personal endeavors. Past award recipients include Fortune 500 executives, Olympic athletes and individuals who have worked courageously, but quietly, in support of ethical leadership. A total of 19 awards have been presented since the program’s inception.
In 2004, Owen, a 35-year veteran of the financial services industry, wrote “Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West,” in response to the rise of corporate scandals surfacing across the country. He is also the author of “TRY,” which highlights the qualities of character necessary to succeed against the odds.
In 2006, Owen founded the Center for Cowboy Ethics & Leadership−a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation established to help spread the message that we can all be heroes in our own lives. Inspired by his love of Western history and lore, Owen fulfills the organization’s mission−centered on basic core values that all Americans can share−through his books and presentations before corporate and student audiences. His grassroots approach is, “an effort to heighten a sense of personal responsibility and create a strong sense of civic consciousness,” shared Owen.
Owen’s “Ten Principles of Cowboy Ethics” and has been adopted by approximately 20 high schools, and serves as the official state code of the state of Wyoming.
A summa cum laude graduate of Regis University, Owen and his wife, Stanya, are parents to two grown children and reside in Austin, Texas.
The CPT salutes Jim Owen and others who lead with integrity and understand the impact that ethical leadership plays in business.
About NASBA Center for the Public Trust
The NASBA Center for the Public Trust (CPT) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to champion the public trust by advancing ethical leadership in business, institutions and organizations. www.thecpt.org.
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CPT Honors Jim Owen for Leading with Integrity
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